Cessna 172 N273EB

Summary

On 23 May 2019 at about 23:35 local time, a Cessna 172 registered N273EB, operated by Westwind School of Aeronautics Phoenix LLC, was involved in an accident near Nogalas, Arizona, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

23 May 2019 at 23:35

Classification

Accident

Location

Nogalas, Arizona, United States

Nearest airport

Nogales Intl (OLS)

Coordinates

31.4178, -110.8478

Aircraft

Cessna 172

Registration

N273EB

Category

Airplane

Year built

1978

Engines

1

Operator

Westwind School of Aeronautics Phoenix LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Phoenix → Nogales

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA19CA312

Nobody was injured.

The student pilot's failure to maintain adequate clearance from a parked fuel truck. Contributing to the accident were the student’s failure to follow company policy and the flight instructor’s delayed remedial action.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor reported that, after landing, he gave the controls to the student to let him taxi to the ramp. After entering the ramp, the student taxied the airplane toward an unoccupied parking spot. The instructor added that, per company policy, the student was taught to stop the airplane perpendicular to the landing spot, shut down the engine, and use the tow bar to back the airplane into the unoccupied spot. As the student passed a parked fuel truck adjacent the parking spot, he made a left turn and started maneuvering the airplane into the parking spot instead of following company policy. During the left turn, the instructor saw that the left wingtip was getting close to the truck, so he applied brakes and told the student to stop the airplane, but the left wing struck the truck. The student reported that he did not follow company policy. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left-wing spar. The chief flight instructor reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.